The present invention is directed to a coupling element for use either to couple out a light signal from an optical waveguide or for coupling a light signal into an optical waveguide, wherein at least one of the waveguides is mounted in a carrying member.
The coupling elements, which may be used to couple light into or out of a waveguide are known. For example, an earlier U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 066,695, which included the disclosure of German patent application P 28 40 602.2, and U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 068,051, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,571, which included the disclosure of German patent application P 28 42 535.6 described a coupling element by which a light component or signal is coupled out of a waveguide by means of a beam divider reflector or mirror. In the first of the two applications, the coupled out light component or signal is directly conveyed to a detector and in the second mentioned application the coupled out light component is coupled into a branching off optical waveguide. In another U.S. copending patent application, Ser. No. 066,694, which includes the disclosure of German application P 28 40 493.5, a frequency-selective optical light distributor element was proposed in which a light component of a specific wave length is coupled out of a waveguide with the aid of a dichroic reflector. In all of these applications, the embodiments are described in which the optical waveguides which as a rule consist of a multimode-glass fiber, are mounted in supporting member which consist of glass capillaries. The supporting member with the waveguide mounted therein is fabricated so that the waveguide is introduced into the opening of the capillary and is secured therein by means of an optical cement. The coupling element, which is proposed in the above mentioned applications, can be advantageously manufactured in both a simple and self adjusting fashion.